Poor Reviews - Blu-ray Forum

caliminius · 06-19-2008, 02:09 PM

So am I alone in thinking that reviews of Blu-Ray discs should NOT review the movie itself? We all have our opinions about what constitutes a good movie, but audio and video quality are much more quantifiable. It's hard to argue that video is lacking because of poor detail or extreme grain.

What brought this up was looking at the review of "Stealth" briefly this morning. The "Movie" itself got 2 stars which may be about right because it was a brainless action flick. But what bothers me is that "Independence Day" is as brainless and stupid as "Stealth" yet got 4 1/2 stars. There are sections of the ID4 review that could be pasted into the "Stealth" review and you would never know that they had originally applied to a different movie.

Here's a good example from the ID4 review (with "Stealth" substituted for the one mention of "Indepence Day"):

"It's my opinion that those that find looking over the numerous plot holes in this movie too difficult, choosing instead to heap on the criticism of this movie are completely missing the point. Films such as this one aren't meant to be highbrow art. Not everything can be (nor should it be) The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Seventh Seal, or even Alien. Sometimes, just accepting a movie for what it is rather than tearing it apart and missing out on all the fun just does a disservice to both audience and to the film. Taken as a big, ridiculous sci-fi/action extravaganza (which it is and doesn't even try to be anything else), Stealth works like a charm. Sure, some of the plot holes are big enough for the aforementioned Godzilla to walk through, but who cares? The movie is fun, loud, entertaining, and appealing. Not everyone will see it the same way I do, and so be it. I hold no grudge against them, but I believe they're missing out on one of the all-time great popcorn movies."

To me, the review should just skip to whether it's a good Blu-Ray disc in terms of video, audio and extras.

Joe Cain · 06-19-2008, 02:14 PM

Any review of a film for content is naturally subjective; if you don't find the information valuable, ignore it.

MacDaddyOJack · 06-19-2008, 02:15 PM

I think its fine, plus we have a user review section as well that shows you the overall average. I think its a nice touch, and I don't take it as exact either. Its just a review, you may very well think otherwise after you watch it, that's why so many different movies are made each year.

Eternalnow · 06-19-2008, 02:15 PM

Hey, I totally hear what you are saying. It is pretty frustrating when you disagree with the film portion of the review, but thats what critics do. They present their opinion of the film as well as the pq/aq and suppliments rating. I don't see that changing any time soon because I'm sure the review actually helps some people, and for others its just an entertaining read.

I too agree that Stealth and ID4 are both garbage titles, but opinions do vary.But then again there are titles that I love which I'm sure many people would consider trash.

dgator783 · 06-19-2008, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caliminius

So am I alone in thinking that reviews of Blu-Ray discs should NOT review the movie itself? We all have our opinions about what constitutes a good movie, but audio and video quality are much more quantifiable. It's hard to argue that video is lacking because of poor detail or extreme grain.

What brought this up was looking at the review of "Stealth" briefly this morning. The "Movie" itself got 2 stars which may be about right because it was a brainless action flick. But what bothers me is that "Independence Day" is as brainless and stupid as "Stealth" yet got 4 1/2 stars. There are sections of the ID4 review that could be pasted into the "Stealth" review and you would never know that they had originally applied to a different movie.

Here's a good example from the ID4 review (with "Stealth" substituted for the one mention of "Indepence Day"):

"It's my opinion that those that find looking over the numerous plot holes in this movie too difficult, choosing instead to heap on the criticism of this movie are completely missing the point. Films such as this one aren't meant to be highbrow art. Not everything can be (nor should it be) The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Seventh Seal, or even Alien. Sometimes, just accepting a movie for what it is rather than tearing it apart and missing out on all the fun just does a disservice to both audience and to the film. Taken as a big, ridiculous sci-fi/action extravaganza (which it is and doesn't even try to be anything else), Stealth works like a charm. Sure, some of the plot holes are big enough for the aforementioned Godzilla to walk through, but who cares? The movie is fun, loud, entertaining, and appealing. Not everyone will see it the same way I do, and so be it. I hold no grudge against them, but I believe they're missing out on one of the all-time great popcorn movies."

To me, the review should just skip to whether it's a good Blu-Ray disc in terms of video, audio and extras.

yeah, but stealth is never entertaining....ID4 blows it out of the water, better story, better characters..and such.....I turned off Stealth cause it was terrible for me.....I agree with the reveiwer 100%....i want the movies itself reviewed because I dont want to waste 30 bucks on a crap movie with awesome picture quality

MacDaddyOJack · 06-19-2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgator783

yeah, but stealth is never entertaining....ID4 blows it out of the water, better story, better characters..and such.....I turned off Stealth cause it was terrible for me.....I agree with the reveiwer 100%....i want the movies itself reviewed because I dont want to waste 30 bucks on a crap movie with awesome picture quality

I actually prefer Stealth, but that's just me. To each his own, reviews are always a little subjective.

Bonifax · 06-19-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgator783

I dont want to waste 30 bucks on a crap movie with awesome picture quality

I agree with you 100%... touche!

dadkins · 06-19-2008, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgator783

I dont want to waste 30 bucks on a crap movie with awesome picture quality

Other side of that coin... I don't want to blow $30 on a great movie that has no better PQ than a SD DVD.

Amel · 06-19-2008, 04:33 PM

you cant compare stealth with id4

id4 is a classic while stealth is just pure garbage

kuliddar · 06-19-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

I agree with what you are saying but your not getting the point. They should only review the PQ and AQ and extras for people to see if its worth upgrading the movie from dvd to blu because there are a lot of blus that look almost the same as the dvd verson so its nice to know if one of your fav movies coming out on blu got a good transfer and upgraded audio or not. I tend to disagree on the most movie reviews but I do want to know if the blu-ray verson of a movie I like is worth the extra $$$$

Again, scroll to "Video", "Audio", "Extras". I doubt we read completely all reviews. I'll take the example of Blood Diamond.

I saw the film already and loved it hence I don't need to read the "Movie" Section of it. However I read the rest since I wanted to know if it was worth, at the time, 30$. Both site and user reviews stated that the Video has some serious issues. Hence, I decided that, for the time being, I would by the DVD for 6$ (almost the price of a rental).

Now take Broken Trail . Never saw the film but heard good stuff about it, was convinced but read the review here anyways, this time the whole shazam. It reafirmed my investment in this title. And, although I'm not finished (I bought it yesterday and its over 3hours long) up to now I'm glad I bought it and the review, up to now is right on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aviman33

I dissagree. 1st, your assuming that all people are simply upgrading and not 1st time buyers. And 2nd, your assuming that PQ & AQ is not also subjective.

John

+1 John, PQ and AQ is also open to interpretation depending on your eyes and ears and your HT equipment. It's why I combine both site review and user review. It gives, usually, a pretty good idea as to what to expect.

kuliddar · 06-19-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdm1699

No you miss the point

. How many people already have catalog titles? If the PQ and AQ is bad then what the heck is the point in replacing the dvd?

On the other hand, if I find a dvd to be average I just may replace it if the AQ and PQ is great.

You would be surprised at how many people have little catalogue on SDVD and growing one on BR.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=54001

Forget the poll, and look throught the posts. Obviously you will see the ones that have hundred or even thousands, but there are some that have very few catalogue on SDVD but a growing number of BR. This is a specialized site my friend hence you can only imagine that people that don't come here might have even less. Believe me not everyone has a huge catalogue.

dadkins · 06-19-2008, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuliddar

You would be surprised at how many people have little catalogue on SDVD and growing one on BR.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=54001

Forget the poll, and look throught the posts. Obviously you will see the ones that have hundred or even thousands, but there are some that have very few catalogue on SDVD but a growing number of BR. This is a specialized site my friend hence you can only imagine that people that don't come here might have even less. Believe me not everyone has a huge catalogue.

I can relate.
I have a few SD DVDs - always just rented them.
Blu-ray is different though.
I buy Blu-ray Discs because of the PQ and AQ.
Yes, the movie has to have some redeeming value, PQ/AQ alone is not enough... but without the PQ/AQ, why buy it on Blu?

SpaceDog · 06-19-2008, 04:44 PM

I don't read film analysis until after I've seen any film. If I haven't seen the film I skip to the video and audio analysis. There are plenty of reviewers who I don't read film analysis from at all because I don't respect their perspective or their analysis.
There is even at least one here on that front. Of course usually I get about half way through their review and think "oh this must be so-and-so"... 100% of the time I've been right. Of course if I had started by reading the name of the reviewer...

Stiny-Ray2 · 06-19-2008, 02:18 PM

Excellent points i personally think ID4 sucks that's why i have no intensions of getting it on Blu. I haven't seen Stealth yet but after reading the reviews, i would much rather it than the horrid ID4.

*Ahem* Note to self be leery of reviewers on this site.

kuliddar · 06-19-2008, 02:47 PM

Reviews of a film itself are usually subjective. Doesn't matter who you read it from you will never have everyone agreeing. If that part of the review is not interesting for you, then just don't look at that part of the review and disregard the rating meter. Its that simple.

Some may flame me for this but honestly I don't care; but if you buy a film just for PQ and AQ then you are not a movie fan. Of course they are part of the final product...this is BR afterall, but you wouldn't see me buy a film like Ultraviolet only because of its image quality...especially at 30$ a pop.

In the end, the combination of both, site and user reviews of a title indicates well if the product is worth a purchase on BR. I rarely do a blind purchase and it honestly saved me from paying too much for BR products such as Blood Diamonds and Hitch

Ferris · 06-19-2008, 02:58 PM

Are not reviews of all aspects pretty subjective? Plot, character development, picture quality, audio quality, price, etc. are all based on someone's opinion.

We've all seen reviews of films where the reviewer complains about "grain" and "steady cam" etc, where the grain was intentional, and the use of the steady cam was desired by some, and not others. For example, one reviewer (albeit the St. Pete Times here in FL) felt sick with the camera work in Bourne Supremacy. I thought it was great.

I just think that people will look for what they want in a review, and decide based on their own set of criteria.

95pgtproject · 06-19-2008, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuliddar

Some may flame me for this but honestly I don't care; but if you buy a film just for PQ and AQ then you are not a movie fan.

I agree with what you are saying but your not getting the point. They should only review the PQ and AQ and extras for people to see if its worth upgrading the movie from dvd to blu because there are a lot of blus that look almost the same as the dvd verson so its nice to know if one of your fav movies coming out on blu got a good transfer and upgraded audio or not. I tend to disagree on the most movie reviews but I do want to know if the blu-ray verson of a movie I like is worth the extra $$$$

aviman33 · 06-19-2008, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

I agree with what you are saying but your not getting the point. They should only review the PQ and AQ and extras for people to see if its worth upgrading the movie from dvd to blu because there are a lot of blus that look almost the same as the dvd verson so its nice to know if one of your fav movies coming out on blu got a good transfer and upgraded audio or not. I tend to disagree on the most movie reviews but I do want to know if the blu-ray verson of a movie I like is worth the extra $$$$

I dissagree. 1st, your assuming that all people are simply upgrading and not 1st time buyers. And 2nd, your assuming that PQ & AQ is not also subjective.

John

Chris60119 · 06-19-2008, 03:58 PM

I'll listen to user reviews on PQ and AQ. When it comes to the actual movie I like to form my own opnion if I'm going to buy it or not.

dadkins · 06-19-2008, 04:06 PM

I hate reviews.

What some reviewer may like or dislike, may be completely opposite from what you or I may like or dislike.

Stealth, while it is a fun movie, the PQ is "Less Than Stellar".
This is one of the BDs that either got a messed up transfer or the master is junk.

06-19-2008, 02:09 PM	#1
caliminius Senior Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:The Negative Zone Blu-ray collection:84	Poor Reviews So am I alone in thinking that reviews of Blu-Ray discs should NOT review the movie itself? We all have our opinions about what constitutes a good movie, but audio and video quality are much more quantifiable. It's hard to argue that video is lacking because of poor detail or extreme grain. What brought this up was looking at the review of "Stealth" briefly this morning. The "Movie" itself got 2 stars which may be about right because it was a brainless action flick. But what bothers me is that "Independence Day" is as brainless and stupid as "Stealth" yet got 4 1/2 stars. There are sections of the ID4 review that could be pasted into the "Stealth" review and you would never know that they had originally applied to a different movie. Here's a good example from the ID4 review (with "Stealth" substituted for the one mention of "Indepence Day"): "It's my opinion that those that find looking over the numerous plot holes in this movie too difficult, choosing instead to heap on the criticism of this movie are completely missing the point. Films such as this one aren't meant to be highbrow art. Not everything can be (nor should it be) The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Seventh Seal, or even Alien. Sometimes, just accepting a movie for what it is rather than tearing it apart and missing out on all the fun just does a disservice to both audience and to the film. Taken as a big, ridiculous sci-fi/action extravaganza (which it is and doesn't even try to be anything else), Stealth works like a charm. Sure, some of the plot holes are big enough for the aforementioned Godzilla to walk through, but who cares? The movie is fun, loud, entertaining, and appealing. Not everyone will see it the same way I do, and so be it. I hold no grudge against them, but I believe they're missing out on one of the all-time great popcorn movies." To me, the review should just skip to whether it's a good Blu-Ray disc in terms of video, audio and extras.

06-19-2008, 02:18 PM	#14
Stiny-Ray2 Senior Member Member since:Feb 2008 Blu-ray reviews:1	Excellent points i personally think ID4 sucks that's why i have no intensions of getting it on Blu. I haven't seen Stealth yet but after reading the reviews, i would much rather it than the horrid ID4. Ahem Note to self be leery of reviewers on this site. Last edited by Stiny-Ray2; 06-19-2008 at 02:21 PM.

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06-19-2008, 02:14 PM	#2
Joe Cain Power Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:The Tragic City Blu-ray collection:79	Any review of a film for content is naturally subjective; if you don't find the information valuable, ignore it.

06-19-2008, 02:15 PM	#3
MacDaddyOJack Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Richmond, VA PSNetwork: MacDaddyOJack Trophy Level: 12(4%) Home Theater Gallery:12 Blu-ray collection:71 Blu-ray reviews:23 Trading Score:4	I think its fine, plus we have a user review section as well that shows you the overall average. I think its a nice touch, and I don't take it as exact either. Its just a review, you may very well think otherwise after you watch it, that's why so many different movies are made each year.

06-19-2008, 02:15 PM	#4
Eternalnow Active Member Member since:Mar 2008 Blu-ray collection:79 Blu-ray reviews:12	Hey, I totally hear what you are saying. It is pretty frustrating when you disagree with the film portion of the review, but thats what critics do. They present their opinion of the film as well as the pq/aq and suppliments rating. I don't see that changing any time soon because I'm sure the review actually helps some people, and for others its just an entertaining read. I too agree that Stealth and ID4 are both garbage titles, but opinions do vary.But then again there are titles that I love which I'm sure many people would consider trash.

06-19-2008, 04:33 PM	#9
Amel Special Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Clearwater FL Blu-ray collection:91 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	you cant compare stealth with id4 id4 is a classic while stealth is just pure garbage

06-19-2008, 04:44 PM	#13
SpaceDog Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Raleigh, NC Blu-ray collection:116	I don't read film analysis until after I've seen any film. If I haven't seen the film I skip to the video and audio analysis. There are plenty of reviewers who I don't read film analysis from at all because I don't respect their perspective or their analysis. There is even at least one here on that front. Of course usually I get about half way through their review and think "oh this must be so-and-so"... 100% of the time I've been right. Of course if I had started by reading the name of the reviewer...

06-19-2008, 02:47 PM	#15
kuliddar Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Saint-Hubert, Qc 4K collection:6 Blu-ray collection:253 Blu-ray reviews: 84	Reviews of a film itself are usually subjective. Doesn't matter who you read it from you will never have everyone agreeing. If that part of the review is not interesting for you, then just don't look at that part of the review and disregard the rating meter. Its that simple. Some may flame me for this but honestly I don't care; but if you buy a film just for PQ and AQ then you are not a movie fan. Of course they are part of the final product...this is BR afterall, but you wouldn't see me buy a film like Ultraviolet only because of its image quality...especially at 30$ a pop. In the end, the combination of both, site and user reviews of a title indicates well if the product is worth a purchase on BR. I rarely do a blind purchase and it honestly saved me from paying too much for BR products such as Blood Diamonds and Hitch

06-19-2008, 02:58 PM	#16
Ferris Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Tampa Bay Area Blu-ray collection:79 Trading Score:1	Are not reviews of all aspects pretty subjective? Plot, character development, picture quality, audio quality, price, etc. are all based on someone's opinion. We've all seen reviews of films where the reviewer complains about "grain" and "steady cam" etc, where the grain was intentional, and the use of the steady cam was desired by some, and not others. For example, one reviewer (albeit the St. Pete Times here in FL) felt sick with the camera work in Bourne Supremacy. I thought it was great. I just think that people will look for what they want in a review, and decide based on their own set of criteria.

06-19-2008, 03:58 PM	#19
Chris60119 Blu-ray Ninja Member since:May 2008 Location:Savannah GA Blu-ray collection:850 DVD collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 35	I'll listen to user reviews on PQ and AQ. When it comes to the actual movie I like to form my own opnion if I'm going to buy it or not.

06-19-2008, 04:06 PM	#20
dadkins Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Hercules, CA Blu-ray collection:35 Blu-ray reviews:2	I hate reviews. What some reviewer may like or dislike, may be completely opposite from what you or I may like or dislike. Stealth, while it is a fun movie, the PQ is "Less Than Stellar". This is one of the BDs that either got a messed up transfer or the master is junk.

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